User blog:Thefreewave/What it would take to make a successful Brony music label
There have been a ton of threads opened on mlr for collectives /music labels/ promoters to help get new talent recognized among the flood so many brony musicians. Sad thing is that any of these startup have a bad foundation from the start and often fail a month later (the most successful one Equestrian Hype was the closest success story and it hung out for a good part of the year before almost everyone in that small group of artists quit brony music completely). The trail of the dead or still living labels / promoting teams is long: MiAmore, Second Chances, Pinnacle Records, Pinnacle Records, EKF, Monstor Brony, The Equestrian Legacy, Equestrian Hype, Shiba Crew, Brony Media, Eleventh Dimension Records, and Equestrian Reverb. Here's likely what the brony community really needs if they want one with lasting power (again take my opinions wit a grain of salt): 1. Experience. Face it part of being a musician is making mistakes and experience is not make those mistakes anymore. If someone's running the show they need a track record of being able to find some success in the community and of knowing what you're doing. So many of these threads are started by people just registering at MLR for the first time with NO track record. 2. A good array of quality artists, songs, and a shared sound. Every label should have some sort of sound or commonality. That's how they work and get synergy. Otherwise the unity is not there and people are not seeking out that label. People need to recognize people from that label. to put a name to a face. 3. Assistance with post- production. Every real label will help the artist in some way with production. Most people can get some feedback on how to better a track. But a label historically will get the track mixed and mastered for you and tbh that's where a good brony label could step in. Imagine how much better it would be for someone who is a sound engineer or with great mastering skill could help others who lack in the mastering department and create consistency within that label. It's a dream that should be a reality. 4. Assistance with promotion. Helping get quality artwork, helping make ytube visuals, having a nice looking website to feature artists, getting tracks to radio stations, making label compilations. Getting the word out. Promotion really is the key to getting the music out for a label and if you don't know people throughout the brony scene already you can't do that job well. 5. Be a pony themed label or avoid it completely (and don't expect much mlr support). You can't be both. They are 2 different audiences. 6. Being choosy. Toughest thing about a label is that they have to pick and choose. They'll let you know if a track doesn't sound good, they will be picky about what they put out. They should likely be choosy aboout which artists they want to pick up. Any label saying they'll pick up anyone who joins is already failing in that regard. A label chooses you (if you're good) not the other way around. 7. A team that works well. You can have all the talent in the world but if you can't work well together then it won't last. 8. A unified front. The conundrum; Do you have everything hosted on the label's youtube and bandcamp or on the individual artists instead? My recommendation is the latter but any "label" needs to have a main website that shows off the affiliated artists and that can promote and get views too. Have a youtube that shows off labelmates via playlist, have a bandcamp that puts out free compilation albums from your crew, and a tumblr or a website that makes sense and promotes music from your catalog. Most of the collectives that have come to the brony scene so far want to BE the star and that doesn't benefit anyone. Don't let a label own your music or be the only storefront for you. 9. It's about the quality of the music. If the music isn't good a label can't make it. Quality, quality, quality. If someone running a label can't recognize quality or talent they'll be hard pressed to know why they aren't succeeding. 10. AS tough as all these requirements are the thing that will keep something from dying out is perseverence. If you can't make it through the early stages with a lack of support and the small turnouts or #'s your label won't survive. Even with the deck stacked the people within have to believe this will work. It won't be easy but only they will decide if they fail by giving up and calling it a day or by doing everything they could and keeping their heads up. Either way best of luck. Category:Blog posts